Distortion, fabrication and dissemination of vague information are frequently-used tricks of the hostile forces to sabotage our country. Those tricks are now “abetted” by the Internet and social networks. Thus, we should be always vigilant about them.

After unsuccessful massive “campaigns” against the 12th National Party Congress, the Election of Deputies to the 14th National Assembly and the People’s Councils at levels for the 2016-2021 tenure, they focus on distorting the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress and others of the 12th Central Party Committee’s Sessions, inventing stories and defaming the Party and cadres of our Party and State. They severely criticize guidelines and policies laid down by the 12th National Party Congress, considering those “down-market theory” for the poor, wildlife people, “not progressive theory to develop and modernize the country”. They derided the Resolution of the 4th Session of the 12th Central Party Committee on “Party building and rectification” as “stupid theory” that is impossible in reality. They criticize the Party’s viewpoints on defence and security, separating the people from the armed forces, inciting national hatred. Moreover, they also make up malicious stories targeting at key leaders of our Party and State. On the YouTube, they invent stories: a Party leader received golden statue from Formosa Steel Corporation, another leader owns many villas abroad, or there are competitions for power within the Party even at highest levels. They adduce negative phenomena and corruption cases, then come to the conclusion that “the Party’s nature is corruption”, with the aim of arousing doubts among the people and opposition against the regime. In addition, they continue the argument saying that the Party and the State are suppressing “democracy” and “freedom of press”. They disseminate all kinds of evil information on social networks. There is information that is totally fabricated or partly true. There are particular phenomena that have been made universal.

Those arguments are definitely destructive. Their true plot is to oppose the Communist Party of Vietnam and remove the socialist regime in our country. However, our people, both at home and abroad, fully understand the nature of the Party and achievements gained from the country’s reform particularly in recent years. They are fully aware of the nature of those in the name of “democracy and human rights” to sabotage the country’s construction cause. These people ever “judged” that the Party is now ineligible to lead the country as there exist corruption and moral degeneration within the Party. However, when the 12th Central Party Committee issued the Resolution No.4, they announced that the Party only pretended to combat corruption and that all Party officials were greedy. It is such a down-market, completely contradictory and ridiculous argument. They have carefully studied the Central Resolution No.4 (12th tenure), kept a close watch on the implementation of the Resolution over the past months but pretended to know nothing. Meanwhile, our Party has unhesitatingly clearly shown weaknesses as well as 27 signs of degradation in political ideology, morality, lifestyle, “self-evolution”, “self-transformation”, assessing corruption, wastefulness, negativity among cadres and party members, particularly those of high position, as severe. Moreover, it has advocated “resolutely and persistently implementing the Central Resolution No.4 (12th tenure), with a focus on preventing and pushing back degradation in political ideology, morality, lifestyle, and internal “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”, to make the Party pure, strong, and deserve to be the vanguard leading the State and society.

Implementing the Central Resolution No.4, under the leadership of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam, directly the Party General Secretary, many big corruption cases have been brought to trial publicly, and criminals have served just sentences. With the guideline “no restricted area”, strong determination of the Party and State leaders, and support of the people, this fierce struggle has initially obtained significant results. Thus, we will not allow anyone to distort the significance and the result of the fight against corruption and negative phenomena of our Party, State and people.

On social networks, there now appear a series of fake websites and blogs of Party and State leaders and prestige online newspapers. This is really a fraud and an extremely dangerous trap for innocent people. On those fake networks, they initially provide information that seem to be “genuine” and relevant to guidelines and policies of the Party and the State. Then they will publish ambiguous articles that “pave the way for public opinion” and contain fabrications to defame our Party and regime and incite opposition to the authority at levels. With a mixture of genuine and false information, they deliberately publish information and articles of extremist websites or reactionaries in the name of “freedom, democracy, human rights”. This trick is extremely malicious and evil as they know that the websites under the name of Party and State top leaders easily draw attention of readers. Notably, big online newspapers are credible websites for our people to find out about the country’s political, economic, social, defence and security situation. Those tricks will lead to unpredictable consequences if they are not prevented opportunely. Malicious information will make readers disorientated and lower the prestige of top newspapers.

In a flat world, reactionaries’ taking advantage of the Internet to support wrongful, oppositional viewpoints against the country is very dangerous to political security, ideology, culture, benefits and even existence of the country. Thus, together with combating hostile viewpoints, there should be measures for controlling information on the Internet. Our State promulgated legal documents on information management, such as Decree 72/2013/NĐ-CP, dated July 15th 2013, Decree 174/2013/NĐ-CP, dated November 13rd 2013, by the Government, and recently Circular 38/2016/TT-BTTTT of the Ministry of Information and Communications on “cross border provision of public information”. Those legal documents will practically and effectively serve the non-violent but severe struggle. Accordingly, hostile forces and “democrats” are madly criticizing Vietnam’s Government. They state that Vietnam State is “suppressing the freedom of press”, the Circular No.38 is “a violation of human rights”, and that “according to other countries’ law, social network account belongs to the right of privacy which is protected and inviolable”.

Nevertheless, those are lone, desperate voices. We all believe it is the gospel truth that there is impossible the absolute freedom of Internet. Vietnam like the other sovereign countries worldwide will not allow anyone to violate and injure its sovereignty and territory, including taking advantage of the Internet to sabotage the country and the regime.

The Paris Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam (Paris Peace Accords) was a glorious victory of Vietnam’s diplomacy in the Ho Chi Minh era. 45 years have elapsed, but the event is still of great theoretical and practical value to diplomatic affairs in general, and to defence diplomacy in particular in the cause of Homeland construction and defence today